Modeling Structural Relationships of Marital Attachment Behavior and Mother-Child Relationship: The Mediating Role of self-silencing

The quality of parental relationships, especially the mother-child relationship, plays a decisive role in shaping the child's personality, social and cognitive functioning, as well as their mental health in the future. The aim of the present study was to investigate the structural relationships between marital attachment behaviors and the mother-child relationship, with the mediating role of self-silencing among mothers. 

Research method:

 The research method was correlational and employed structural equation modeling (SEM). For this purpose, 255 married mothers with children were selected through convenience sampling and completed the Mother-Child Relationship Evaluation (MCRE), Marital Attachment Behavior (BARE), and Self-Silencing (STSS) questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 24 and LISREL version 8.8.

The results showed a significant negative relationship between marital attachment behavior and self-silencing (r = -0.33). Additionally, there was a negative relationship between all components of self-silencing and the child acceptance component (r = -0.30), and a significant positive relationship between marital attachment behavior and one of the components of the mother-child relationship, namely child acceptance (r = 0.20). Furthermore, the mediating role of self-silencing in the relationship between marital attachment behavior and the mother-child relationship was confirmed. Considering the indices, the model demonstrated good fit.

The research findings showed that self-silencing mediates the relationship between marital attachment behaviors and the mother-child relationship. Marital attachment behaviors, which including accessibility, responsiveness and engagement, impact the quality of the mother-child relationship through their effect on the mothers' self-perception.